The Irregulars
by DatDude
Summary: As White Knight tests Rex's skills, his lost past rears it's head.


Irregulars

Rex dreamed of situps and forced marches in the rain. He dreamed of sour muscles, and a training field made of peperoni pizza. Rex sat up in bed at the crack of noon swimming in his own sweat.

"Oh man that was . . .why is it an oven in here?"

Looking across the room he saw White Knights face on his TV and he became sharply aware he left it on mute last night. Rex wondered around his his boxers looking for the remote for a good five minutes before he remembered he didn't need a remote. With a touch and a though the sound was back on and his day off to a bad start.

"Nice to see you've joined us hot shot. Taking your room off the grid was a stupid call, but being able to sleep though me turning the heat up is laziness taken to a new level."

Rex's head cleared a bit, and realized why it was so hot in here. Umm if you needed me someone could just knock on my door.

"No EVO menace today slick, just me, you and your annual review."

Rex had a deep seated feeling that he should read the Providence manual one day.

"Umm what now?"

"Let me use very tiny words. Your drill instructor in basic thought highly of you, even if he suggested "Getting Agent Rex a handler with a special education background.". Today, and by that I mean as of FOUR HOURS AGO we started are testing your leadership skills. You will putting together a team, and accomplishing a mission with that team. "

"Umm can I . . ."

Knight cut him off.

"Six, Holiday, the monkey, and even Noah have all been given assignments FAR FAR away from you today."

Rex still half awake, and defiantly caffeine starved Rex cut the chase with out any attempt at a joke or sarcasm.

"How well can I still do on this?"

"You want a letter grade hotshot?"

". . . Shower."

"Be in the briefing room in ten minutes!"

"Got ya."

Eight minutes, a cold shower, and chugged can of soda later Rex was in the briefing room. Captain Callan was waiting for him.

"Hello Rex I'm here to get you up to speed on the Marduk reports runners up."

Tried not to burp, and failed.

"BURP! Sorry what now?"

The man couldn't help but smile.

"Haha, we went though more then a few candidates before we found YOU Rex. We have files on top of files on EVO's that didn't make the cut. On top of that is a back log of possibly useful candidates we are to busy to look at in depth. This is war Rex and we've had to prioritize."

"OK so . . . "

"Sit down and get comfortable, because there are A LOT of information to go though."

Rex tried to be charming.

"I'm guessing I couldn't jail break your Iphone or something from the abridged edition?"

"I've got a kid brother for that kind of thing so sorry, no bribes or short cuts."

Rex noticed his presentation was running on a laptop to keep him to touching the wall and making giant monitor Whites head was always on malfunction. He gave up, and gulp paid attention. An hour and a half later Callan turned around and saw Rex with his head on his desk.

"Umm kid I need to report you to White Knight. . . "

Rex cut in without picking his head up.

"The mousy emo girl, the blind guy, and did you say the werewolf Russian?"

Callan felt surprised Rex might have actually picked up some of his briefing.

"Found him outside the bug jar so yea. "

"You said they people all got processed in Indiana, anyone there try Russian or did they mix him in with the rest of the crowd?"

"What do you know, I don't see anything about that in the file. Keep that in mind when you meet them. "

Rex looked up with puppy dog eyes silently begging to set free from this test. Callan must really have a kid brother, because he smiled and rubbed it in.

"We are passing over Kokomo now, I'd get moving or you'll need to fly down yourself."

Rex comically dragged himself from the desk and out of the room.

"Child labor laws look it up you slave drivers!"

Rex stood in front of the Kokomo insane asylum that had been "converted" very minimally to house nonviolent unprocessed EVO's. The waiting list to see a Doctor could be as long as a year and a half, and Rex had a novel thought.

"Somehow I never thought I got the gold star treatment, these guys probably don't even get checked out by someone like Holiday. Oh well maybe their will be some pretty nurses!"

Marry-Ann the head nurse, was 53, a pack a day smoker, had four kids, and two divorces. Rex had learned the he resembled "the first husband", before he got fat and belligerent. As such she was taking the time to show Rex around personally. Rex had been ducking her for the past half an hour, and looking for his choice EVO's.

Poking his head in a random door he saw a guy in a paper mache mask chained to a wall.

"Nope not that one."

The next room over had fish man in a bathtub.

"Aquaman no thanks."

Around the corner he found an actual mental patient carving faces into bars of soup and naming them.

"Maybe I should take this guy just to see the look on Whites face."

"I wouldn't do that Mister Larry not a team player sir."

Rex jumped the sound of another voice, and spun around. He was met with a boy with a blindfold, a light cane wearing hospital scrubs.

"AAA! I mean A HA you are on my list, Jack right?"

"Yes Sir, Blind Jack to most around here. I'm not really the siting around type so the nice nurse ladies let me help out, as much as I'm able."

He thought to himself _I'd rather have a blind tour guide then that lady._

"OK I'm looking for Cassandra O'Donnell, about 13 reads minds, and a hairy Russian kid no ones got a name for."

"Sure thing sir, just follow me."

Rex trailed behind the blind kid ad a slow pace giving him time to feel his way around with a light cane.

"Umm Jack the report I read on you said your eyes where something special, so . . . umm."

"I was born blind sir, and when I went EVO all I got was a headache sir."

The idea of someone calling him sir so much was making Rex head spin.

"Just stick to Rex for right now, please OK?"

Reaching a door, Jack felt the plate to make sure he was in the right place. Rex could see is read "exit".

Here's our wild one.

"Umm that leads out side, could you maybe be confused a bit?"

"No sir, I mean Rex. This one used to run off a bit often, it go so that they realized he had no where to go, and tried leaving him outside. He doesn't leave, and gives much less trouble these days."

Rex raised an eyebrow, and twitched a bit. He decided no to talk, Jack lived here he didn't work here so complaining to him about this was pointless. Peeking out the door he saw a wild haired boy in ripped hospital scrubs laying in the mud like a dog. The door creaked a bit, and he looked up at Rex and smiled through very large and sharp teeth.

Rex pulled his head back inside and shut the door. He spoke nervously.

"OK maybe I should talk tot he girl first!"

Jack lead him around the corner just a bit.

"This is the place, I just caution you to keep you hands to yourself sir I mean Rex."

Rex missed Jack's hint.

"I'll try to control myself."

Entering the room without thinking to knock he found a room wallpapered with amateur art work.

"Some of this stuff isn't bad, shame its all down with printer paper and ball point pens."

Off in a corner Cassandra sitting on the edge of a bed sketching away.

"Go away."

Looking at the wall art as he walked over to her. They where pictures of lamps, tables, windows, and Rex suddenly felt just how small this room was.

"I said get out!"

Snapping back to the real world the boy made eye contact with Cassandra. She was quite a bit shorter then he was had unkept yellow blond hair, and was very skinny. The boy tried to lay on the charm THICK.

"Yea sorry not doing that. I'm Rex, and I'm from Providence. CONGRADULATION you are one of the few chosen for possible special agent status! "

She grabbed his wrist just above his glove and just under his jacket as to touch bare skin. Rex's world turned sideways, and he found himself in a long dark hallway running after Six till his sides felt like they where splitting. Dropping to his knees he tried to scream, but no sound came out, and Six walked off into the light. Trying to stand he noticed Holiday walking past, and he grabbed at her hand but missed. She looked down at him with a look of disdain on her face and spoke.

"I am not your mother, or your girlfriend stop wasting my time!"

Her words cut though him like a knife and reflexes Rex didn't know he had kicked in, and his nanites reached out cut the connection with Cassandras nanites.

Rex found himself back in reality, and looking down at a girl that just made him blindly angry. Rex smiled as he saw the fear in her eyes and she started to hurry away from him with a pronounced limp. Catching himself before doing something he'd regret in the morning the giant metal fist dissolved at a though, and Rex took his gloves off before walking over to her again.

"Being an EVO can suck, I'm guessing you'll be able to tell I'm doing everything I can if this doesn't work."

Rex touched her for head as she shock with fear over what Rex might do, as he tried to cure her. When it didn't work, she spoke in a dry tone of voice unused to kindness.

"Thank you for trying."

White Knight sat at his desk looking over intelligence reports on half a dozen people that showed up on the radar the past few months as EVO sympathizers.

"On top of everything else, I've got bleeding hearts too. At least Hunter Cain got people to shot EVO's."

A beep from his terminal got his attention, as Rex attempted to make unauthorized contact with Doctor Holiday. The man in white punched a few keys and spoke.

"Not so fast hot shot, your baby sitters are off limits remember?"

The boy yet again seemed to forget just who he was talking to.

"What White, your bugging my communicator now?"

Another beep told him Rex was trying to email pictures from his phone, White opened them as he replied.

"Now listen here slick, you have orders and you will follow them, or I will reconsidered the leeway we give you around here!"

The pictures opened one of a boy in rags living on a lawn, and the other of a skinny knee with a bandaged that made White remember bad filed dressing in a war zone. Rex spoke.

"Sorry SIR, I just think the Doctors around here are a bit umm shale we say lacking. I've got my team, but they need a bit of work before I can use them for anything. Can I get permission to bring them in I guess?"

White sounded uncharacteristically nice as he answered.

"Sure thing son, I'll have a ship pick you up, and have Holiday check them out herself."

"Really that easy?"

"See what happens when you make yourself useful? Knight out."

White hung up on Rex and pulled up a video file from the interrogation of an EVO scumbag called Quarry, and played it.

"Sure Rex used to work for me. A sharp boy that one, good at recruiting new talent, and such a knack for inspiring loyalty. Don't get me wrong though he can lie though his teeth as easy as breath, but then again that just makes him good management material."

Knight smiled a wicked little smile.

"Time to fine out if that boy really is management material, and how dangerous he can be in the long term. "

The ship docked with Providence Keep, and Doctor Holiday met them in the landing bay. The pilot had radioed the possible need for a medic on landing. The hatch opened and Rex's voice screamed out.

"NO BAD DOG BOY BAD BATHROOM YOU HERE ME BATHROOM! DONT LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT AAAAAA MY ONLY JACKET!"

She covered her mouth to muffle the laugh and she turned to the nurse she brought with her.

"OK Yuri I think that's you que."

The thick necked 6'5 male nurse pushing an empty wheel chair called out in Russian. The feral dog boy charged into the landing bay with an ecstatic look on his face, having hear a language he could understand for the first time in months.

Yuri nodded his head as the boy spoke, and he Rex whined in the background.

"I hope this comes out as easy as monkey stink!"

He made eye contact with Holiday giving a report on what the boy was saying, and looking for approval.

"The boy said he was a Gypsy cast out by his family when he changed. They thought he was cursed, and is very glad to know he is only sic. Can I take him to the lab now?"

"Go a head, I'll deal with the rest of them."

Rex walked out of the ship while Holiday tried not to smile as he was ringing out his coat. He was flanked by a boy on his right a girl on his left. The girl had a pronounced limp, and was probably the reason for Rex asked for the chair. The boy spoke.

"Now mister Rex don't go taking that as anything but that poor boy being upset by unfamiliar surroundings. "

"Yea Jack I'll keep that in mind. "

He made eye contact with her, and seemed to relax a bit.

"Lady and gentile man, this is the lovely Doctor Holiday, and she will be giving every a checkup. Doc we've got those diaper things Bobo uses right, cuz someone needs'em. This is Cassandra and Jack, did you get my email?"

Taking the blind boy with the cane by the arm she spoke. She had instead gotten an email from White Knight telling her to under no circumstance touch the girl without gloves.

"Nice to meet everyone."

Twenty minutes later Cassandra had a new dressing on her wound, and Holiday was already putting in for the antibiotics she'd need for the infection. Some Doctors would wait for the scanner to know for sure, but she could tell from the look of it that another week or two and that girl would have been in a bad place. Standing up to stretch her legs while the robot orderly came up from the hold with the medication she couldn't help but notice Rex acting strangely.

"OK Jack just a quick check up from me while I help the pretty Doctor out. Take you blind fold off for me, and tell me what you feel."

The boy reluctantly complied.

"Well Rex like usual it hurts a bit having my eyes open."

Rex touched the wall and killed the lights in that half of the lab with his power.

"Any difference now?"

"Yea that's a bit better, but things are still uncomfortable."

"One more and I'll let the real Doctor have a turn."

Rex reached his right hand into the desk he was next to, and grabbed the zippo lighter she kept there. Holiday was a bit shocked the boy had figured out she snuck a cigarette every so often, but what he did with the lighter mad her wonder if it was the same Rex she'd been studying the past year and a half talking right now.

He lit the lighter, and covered the flame with his giant metal hand. Then he put the cover back on the lighter stifling the flame. Then he healed the lighter up to Jack and spoke.

"How about now?"

"Yes sir I most certainly feel something, and it is none too nice."

Rex ignored his discomfort and continued.

"If I leave it here does it feel like its getting stronger at all?"

"I'd guess it's getting a bit better, but that would be like saying one bee sting to the face is better then five."

Holiday watched Rex testing the boys powers and in the most fundamental way learning what he might one day be able to see. Heat and light are defiantly things those odd eyes of Jack's responded to, and she couldn't shake the feeling Rex had done this before. It could have been in a Hong-Kong back ally, or maybe it was some other city and some other corner of that black hole that was his past.

"Hay Doc I'm thinking full spectro on those eyes, how are we doing on the mind reader?. "

She thought to herself before answering. _Full spectro? Maybe full spectrum, is he saying the kind and see the length of the em spectrum? Who where you Rex, and why did you pick these three?_

"Pretty standard for this type of telepathic. Her nanites reach out to the nanites in whoever she touches and they read their thoughts though their nervous system. A cluster of active nanites in her brain, not extra lobes so she should have any medical induced behavior problems, but Rex that leg of hers I think the staff was afraid of touching her."

Rex didn't look at her, and that was strange he ALWAYS looked at her. Rex wasn't even stealing a look when he thought she was looking someplace else and their was an odd change in his voice.

"Good people with four lobed brains piss me off. Breach, I bet you round at that birds got a half formed lobe or two. Anyway our girl Cassie here was just tired of being poked and prodded all day I bet. Hay Sheila Doc tells me your done laying in the scanner. Come with me and I'll get us something to eat!"

The girl actually cracked a tiny smile, as Rex lead her from the room, leaving Doctor Holiday with an odd feeling.

White Knight looked down at Rex's report. The first report the kid as ever turned in as far he could tell, and though all the typos and smiley faces their were a few good ideas in here.

_But are they too good? _

Was the question on Knights mind. He pulled up the live security feed from the level 54 dinning area.

Rex walked around the sat at the table across from that O'Donnell girl and laid the charm on thick. He couldn't help but notice he was a bit smoother then when he was following Holiday around like a puppy.

". . .and that's why the fogs, but back on topic you don't want the details BLEIVE ME!"

The girl smiled as Rex continued.

"The three of you have powers, and no real idea how to use them . . .OK D.B. just needs to learn English or go to obedience school. So the question is how do you train someone that's never seen before about nine different kinds of vision, and fast track someone on a second language when he only speaks his first one like a nine year old?"

The girl blushed a bit.

"How?"

"Simple, my lovely telepath, you. "

Knight couldn't help but remember a scumbag he went to high school with named Joey "BagofDonuts" that spent senior year dating freshmen girls. Joey was a scumbag that spent six years in high school but the only freshmen girls that said no to him had older sisters that made the same mistake.

Joey ended up as a crooked cop, Knight used for odd dirty jobs in the days before Providence. That was until someone, he never bothered to find out who stepped on the cockroach.

"People like that are always useful. . . for a while."

Cassie sat hearing Rex talk. He was nice, he was older, good looking. She couldn't remember the last time she didn't feel like a freak.

". . .and that's why the fogs, but back on topic you don't want the details BLEIVE ME!"

The girl smiled and tuned back into the conversation as Rex continued.

"The three of you have powers, and no real idea how to use them . . .OK D.B. just needs to learn English or go to obedience school. So the question is how do you train someone that's never seen before about nine different kinds of vision, and fast track someone on a second language when he only speaks his first one like a nine year old?"

The girl blushed a bit.

"How?"

"Simple, my lovely telepath, you. "

"How the only thing I know how to do is make sure nasty people stay hands off."

Rex was so confident, Cassie bet he'd helped lots of people like her. Yesterday she was sitting in the dark, and now shes on some flying ship thing and she was going to learn how to help people!

"That is not a problem, because we have run into telepathic people before, and all we need you to do is simple stuff. You know how to make people see stuff already, and if you just show Jack what you see normally that's a big step. If he's got X-ray vision we just call down to the goggle room have them bring up some x-ray specks. The you just show him, and we skip months of work. D.B. I admit will will be tricky but hay if that doesn't work with him we just get some Russian teachers."

She tired to sound serious.

"Why us? Their were two hundred people in that place just locked away."

"Not locked away, we didn't have what we needed to see everyone fast the whole worlds in trouble, and Providence does what it can. They let me pick, I saw the other two, and was like if only I could get stuff into their heads quick they'd be cherry! Then I read your file, and I knew we could make it work. Most Evo's they don't get much, they loose control turn into something nasty. A few keep their heads, and a few of those pick something up. Your special, don't forget that."

She looked at Rex the way he looked at Holiday.

Doctor Holiday watched the hulking spider thing that used to be her sister drain the blood from a goat.

"Your going to kill me, letting your vegan thing get all screwed up like this."

The twisted monster looked up from its meal, and walked to the door. Everything in the Doctors mind told her the creature in front of her had almost no capacity for reason, but she talked to it anyway.

"Listen I know I said I'd fix you and then the world, but theirs this boy. . .you'd like him really reminds my of Rory . . .he still calls me you know. . . shame his mom hated you really. Anyway, I don't think I can save anyone if I don't figure him out. To do that I have to keep him safe, and to keep him safe from well you know why Rory's mom hated you? This kid might have done a few things that got out of hand like that, and I might have to bribe a cop like I did for you. If I get fired you . . . well lets hope they still make cops like they used to. "

She left the Zoo, and made her way back to her office. Sitting at her desk she loaded some software from a flash drive, and hoped. The system loaded what it thought was it's normal Friday night diagnostic of the com system, and a minor notice that someone was steaming video of a football game. The security guys never follow up on those notices, they are all football fans.

The unauthorized com channel connected to the correct terminal in Melbourne Australia. The face on the other end was unshaven rugged and Holiday was guessing short on sleep. She spoke.

"Hello Russel."

The look of confusion on his face gave way to a smile pretty fast.

"Well I'll be damned. Get nostalgic for life in the war zone lady? "

Australia was a continent with huge stretches of desert, and a very tiny habitable zone. Evo's it seems did fine in the desert and didn't mind coming down to the coast in droves looking for food. They bleached the desert twice before they started work on " the 2nd Great wall " building it in the middle of a war turned a tropical paradise into hell on earth pretty damn fast. Everyone in Providence has to rotate though Melbourne at least once, it was there she learned how to fight, and there she met Russel. Some people thought he was crazy for volunteering to stay full time in that nightmare, truth is Holiday believed it this man was nuts, but he was the kind of nuts the people on that continent needed.

"No just need some local info, and as you can guess by the type of call this is . . . "

He cut in.

"An Eagles game wow HAHAH?"

Holiday frowned.

"Russ, that city, New Paradise you worked the evacuation right? The hospital was state of the art when it was built."

The man spun in his office chair and put his hands in the air like a drama student trying to look good on stage.

"The city in the desert, that man created! The wonders of mans science used to reclaim the waste land! What a bitch that the world ended before the new car smell wore off. Yea lady we did make our stand at the hospital, and last I saw as it vanished into the horizon it was still in one peace if that's what your asking. We needed to bleach THAT place and not turn sand into glass. Politicians wouldn't have it. Long tern reclamation goal they said."

Holiday looked at Russel and how far he'd fallen in the past two years. Then she made up her mind.

"Russ I need a solid. Information, off the books and if I'm right its in New Paradise Hospital. "

"That place is full of day walkers lady. Not that anyone in the Keep wants to here anyone but Van Kleiss is up for the role of want to be E.V.O. Messiah. What do you want in EVO town lady?"

"Rex is acting strange, Knights pushing his buttons. How does Knight know what buttons to push? I caught Rex how did you used to say it "trying to sound like Mick Dundee", while talking like he knew different EVO anatomy from the inside out. Rex's power don't let him look inside people, but the scanner in that hospital is the same model in my lab, and he can work that just fine always could."

Russel's blood shot eyes opened wide.

"You want me to go into freak town and find out if the actual EVO messiah used to hang out there?"

"Russ if we lose Rex we loose, understand? Knight can't stand that Rex doesn't have a past he can use to control him, and he might wake something up while he's poking around looking for skeletons."

"Alright alright I'll take Boone, and Eddie. Just one thing lady you sound real certain of this kid, do you know something the rest of us don't?"

Rex sat in the level 5 conference room as White Knight's face appeared on the screen in front of him, and felt important.

"Sooo its been two weeks how are my grades doing chief?"

"You're only half done hot shot. You got a team of assets together, and much like the one you work with on a daily bases you've got one or two in there that are really useful! Now all you need to do is use them for something. The file I'm sending you TO READ, contains information on a nest of EVO's living under New York. They have been causing trouble for transit cops, and in general costing the city money by braking things. You go in on a recon mission, and come back out with information. How many are down there, is there a leader, any notable powers in the bunch, got it?"

Rex smiled a sarcastic smile.

"What was that I was too busy reading to hear you?"

"Ha Ha slick, you ship out in the morning, and by that I mean 2 AM. Have them ready."

Rex raised an eyebrow.

"Knight umm Sir Cassandra's not healthy, Jack has like not enough practice with like sight as a general concept, and D.B. is well responding to a buff nurse guy better then me. "

"Tough, you picked em."

The screen turned off.

"Jerk."

Rex strapped his "team" into there seats on the Providence transport. He could see they looked less then enthusiastic, except for Dog Boy.

"Rough rough! "

Rex looked puzzled.

"You bark now?"

D.B. Started pulling his shirt off.

"Oh rough! D.B. You protect Jack you get that?"

The wild child yipped out a response like a happy puppy.

"Yea yea, seeing eye Dog Boy, yea yea! "

"And what happens if you take your pants off in public?"

He frowned.

"No bacon. . . . "

Rex smiled and nodded his head, feeling that denying the boy pork products was good punishment.

"That's right!"

Jack seemed polite as ever, if a bit nervous.

"Well Sir, I have to say I expected more time to prepare myself. "

Rex not so much.

"Don't worry about it, I've done this kind of thing before, and I'll go all well ME on the bad guys if things get hairy."

Cassandra spoke up.

"Are we spiting up or something? "

"Nope, but if things get hairy I don't want anyone alone. It's one thing if I need to send you guys out of there, but White Knight should have given me more time with you three."

Jack chimed in as Rex finally sat down and started buckling himself in.

"You don't seem to follow Mister White Knight."

Rex hun his head totally unused to having people turn to him looking for a leader.

"He's the boss, and good at his job, but he doesn't like EVO's. Trust me never doubt the mans skills, but his intentions STINK!"

The ship rocketed from the keep, on a ballistic course through the upper atmosphere and Rex somehow got the idea that White might have been listening as the trip was a bit nastier then it needed to be and Cassie turned green from the rough ride.

"He's also a JERKFACE!"

They landed with a thud, Rex dragged himself to his feet, and noticed every one else but Dog Boy was still stunned.

"Make that a jack ass."

Rex broke out his smack hands and then ripped Cassie and Jack's seats off the wall, and barked an order.

"D.B., door!"

He charged the thing like a rhino and half hit the wall ripping a hole in the side of this ship. Rex smiled as he escaped into the night.

"I don't have to pay the repair bill, so good boy!"

They ran from the ship, and out into the pre dawn g_hetto_. By the time the cops found the downed Providence prisoner ship, and called it in Rex and company where already in the subway. D.B. Sniffed around out side a public bathroom, as Rex walked out looking frazzled.

"All I'm saying is Six never had to hold my hair back while I . . ."

Jack followed, seemingly finding his way around fine without his cane. He spoke insistently.

"Mister Rex Sir, that girl should not be here, she is unwell, and libel to catch her death out here!"

"I don't run Providence! I have to take Knights dumb orders as much as . . . OK maybe I get away with a little more then most people, but I couldn't get this called off. We walk away now he sends you back were you where before, we pull it off you get a real Doctor like Holiday. Trust someone that's seen both sides of that Jack, its better WITH the help. "

"It just don't seem fair Sir."

"That's because it ain't, and quit calling me that!"

The four of them sat in the subway station the lights flickering as a train pulled in. A tall balding transit cop got off the train happy to be at the end of his shift, and annoyed to see four kids waiting just around.

"'Scuse me you four look lost maybe need me to give you directions someplace?"

Rex spoke.

"Now."

Dog boy pounced knocking the cop to the ground, as found his gun in its holster his hands fumbling to unlock the clasp his hands still unsure of his eyes. Cassandra just grabbed the cops hand, and he went limp making the others efforts really useless. Rex spoke again.

"That took the fight out of him. Leave the gun Jack grabbing it was just practice. Cricket what did you find?"

The girl looked up at him perplexed.

"Who?"

Rex put his gloved hand under the girls chin, as she looked up at him and blushed.

"Sorry kid, what are you getting from him?"

"Yea something about electricity in some tunnels that don't get used. Abandoned a long time ago, used for switching and storing trains, then stuff started happening, and people disappearing. They ignore that part of the line, and keep the power on, and everything's fine."

Rex smiled.

"Make him forget we where here, and lets go turn the lights off on some punks. Jack find a breaker for me to break!"

Jacks face winced with pain as he switched to a form of vision that caused most of pain that came with his powers. Everything carrying an electrical current glowed bright.

"Aaaa! Down there, past some I'm guessing I'm looking at at wall or something, but that away."

He flicked back over to something closer to normal human eyesight, and noticed he was looking down a wide open subway tunnel and not a wall. Rex spoke up, his mind only partially in the here and now.

"Not even close, but if this is anything like that time with the shape shifter I get what you mean. The power lines are in the wall deep in case of a crash, but their will be a panel for maintenance. Lets move people. Jack you're up front."

They walked into the dark subway tunnel and found the breaker shortly. With a touch Rex killed the power, and it began.

"The emergency lights should be o. . ."

Something hard and metal smacked Rex in the back of the head, and drove him to the ground. He rolled onto his back, formed his smack hands and waited. The Dog Boy growled, and he heard two sets of feet running on beside him one in the direction of the growling and moving toward him the other heading away. Rex picked his target and swung his giant hand hoping all the way. He missed.

"AAAA!"

In the dark, Rex tired to tell who was hurt by the sound of the voice. It was too deep to be the the girl, and if he was right about D.B. being further away a heart beat ago.

Using his oversized hands he stood himself up and walked back to where he thought most of his team was. Quickly he turned his hands back he pulled out his phone making his nanites jam the back light to ON. In the dim light of his impromptu flashlight he could see Jack doubled over grabbing his eyes, and Cassandra huddled terrified in the dark. Rex called out.

"HERE DOG BOY!"

When he was only answered with dead silence Rex shook his head. He felt like he was waking up from a daze, and it became dead clear to him he had never done this kind of thing before.

"Oh damn, Cassie you need to get him up, make him forget he even has eyes if you have to, but we need to move. I can't protect you two, and get the lights on."

Her hand was shaking as she put her hand on Jack forehead, and she pulled back as if touching a fire.

"He hurts too much, I . . I can't get thought!"

The girl was starting to panic, Jack was down, D.B. was missing, and it was totally all his fault for not bringing even one flashlight. Rex's heart sank, as he made up his mind.

"Get him on his feet, we are getting out of here."

He formed his hover bike right under them, and made their way back into the subway station. Rex's mind was spinning, he just left someone behind in a fight. One thing he was sure of amnesia be damned, he knew he'd never done that before, or had he?

In a flash he was running though a blistering desert, and someone was screaming his name. Where he was he didn't know, but he knew he was running away from whoever was calling for his help.

Rex grabbed his communicator, and bit the bullet.

"Rex to Providence, I've got two people down, and one missing. I need an evac team with a medic! Tell White the tests over!"

The lights went on, and Six walked out of the tunnel with D.B over his shoulder. Rex's bio's crashed, as he realized it was all a set up.

Holiday checked Cassandra's IV making sure the antibiotic drip was right. She heard footsteps enter the room, and she spoke.

"The girls got pneumonia after all this Six, it had better be worth it."

He responded in his trademarked tone of voice.

"She'll be better off in the long run. All three of them, are being moved to Lone Star base in Texas. We have a provisional EVO training program now. How's Rex?"

Holiday pulled a tiny device out of her pocket, and turned to him as she checked it.

"His bio's are bottomed out for a fifth hour now, that's a new record. Was this worth it, putting these kids through this Six?"

"It's a hard lesson to learn, that some times you have to save the many at the cost of a few. We promised we'd try to find out about his past, and this time we tried to rattle things loose by putting him into a situation we knew he was in before. If Quarry was right, he made the right call THIS time."

She looked into his ever present glasses, and imagined her own eyes reflected in the lenses where his as she tried to stare him down.

"Rex was in here an hour ago, he said he was sorry for hitting on me all the time, and he wanted to know if Billy was OK."

Six turned his head, and spoke.

"Who's Billy?"

"I don't know, but I'd bet you it's someone he lead along, and abandoned. Six what if the Rex we find, isn't the one we know now. What if we hurt him, by opening a door his mind closed for a reason?"

Six turned to leave, and paused for a bit to answer her.

"We have a right to our sins, I know I wouldn't be here without mine."

NOTES OK it was just Six down there, and Rex is meant to have Rex sacrifice one of his team. That is whites test. DB will be hardest to control, Jack lacks combat powers, making him the weakest, and Cassie is ill but follows Rex like well he follows Holiday. What he wants to judge Rex by who he saves and who he leaves behind.

The " Joey bag of donuts " bit is meant to give the reader a glimpse into whites mind by showing what white thinks Rex will do ie pick the young girl with crush on him he can manipulate easiest. No people I did not turn your hero a common jerk. 


End file.
